This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to contribute to work health and safety (WHS) communication and consultation in the workplace. It involves communicating WHS information to required personnel, and taking appropriate follow-up action to assist in ensuring that communication and consultation processes are effective and conducive to others in the workplace who raise WHS issues.

The unit applies to those who contribute to WHS communication and consultation as part of their work health and safety responsibilities, which are in addition to their main duties.

NOTES

The terms 'occupational health and safety' (OHS) and 'work health and safety' (WHS) are equivalent, and generally either can be used in the workplace. In jurisdictions where model WHS laws have not been implemented, registered training organisations (RTOs) are advised to contextualise this unit of competency by referring to existing WHS legislative requirements.

The model WHS laws include the model WHS Act, model WHS Regulations and model WHS Codes of Practice. See Safe Work Australia for further information.

No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

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Assessment

Assessment tasks will be designed to reinforce and extend knowledge and skill competence within set and controlled parameters in accordance with each unit's learning outcomes and performance criteria requirements, including the setting of work based practical application tasks designed to provide evidence of competence outcomes, within periodic and scheduled timelines.
Students will be expected to demonstrate the following required skills:
- contribute to two different work health and safety (WHS) communication and consultation processes.
During the above, the candidate must:
- communicate WHS information to others;
- raise WHS issues in meetings and follow up on outcomes;
- take appropriate actions to assist with removing any barriers to communication and consultation processes identified during above processes, and;
- support others to raise relevant WHS issues.Students will also be expected to demonstrate the following knowledge:
- purpose of organisational WHS policies, procedures, processes and systems;
- organisational WHS obligations relating to communication and consultation;
- commonwealth and state/territory WHS laws and publications relating to identifying and recording key stakeholders, and WHS communication and consultation processes;
- organisational policies and procedures relating to consultation and communication methods, and processes for revising them, addressing barriers to effective WHS consultation and participation processes, including barrier reporting protocols, and recording and communicating WHS discussions, and;
- elements of WHS communication and consultation including potential barriers to WHS consultation and participation processes, and methods to overcome them, roles and responsibilities of WHS personnel, how the consultation process influences and is related to workplace information management procedures, processes and systems, and methods to engage others with workplace procedures, and information sourcing and sharing.

Where to next?

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